Start Again
by ajadedquartz
Summary: A modern AU that takes place in the state of New York, Winry and Edward end up face to face again. Will their friendship rekindle and blossom into something entirely new?
1. Chapter 1

" _Shit,"_ Edward muttered as he stepped out of his car. There was smoke coming from his hood, and in return, he slammed his door out of pure anger. It wasn't like he had anywhere important to be. Normally around this time of day he was off to the library to return what books he had borrowed, and to check out new ones for his continuous research him and his brother were working on. The two of them were close-knit, hardly ever apart, aside from today. Alphonse was busy with his classwork from school, so Edward decided to leave him be.

Carefully approaching the source of the smoke, a grunt could be heard from the young man as he lifted the burning hood. Of course, this was a bad idea and it hurt like hell, but this allowed the smoke to clear more. " _Just what I needed… something to go wrong on the one day I happen to be alone,"_ he tried to mumble under his breath so he didn't cause more of a scene than he already had with his smoking vehicle.

Passerbys slowed down to assess the situation, but none stopped to help out. Typical, but it didn't matter to him if someone helped him or not. He could handle this on his own. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and searched for the best mechanic in town. Almost immediately finding one with a five-star rating, Ed entered the number and called. With his phone now against his ear, he listened to the annoying rings until finally, a male voice echoed through, stating his name, the shop, and asking the usual question of 'How can I be of service today?'.

" _Yeah, Mr. Garfiel. My name's Edward Elric. I'm stuck on NY 25, actually just a few blocks away from your shop. The engine is smoking. ...um, it's in between a light and a dark gray, and I drive an Audi. If possible, I'd like to be towed to your shop and have repairs done as soon as possible. ...uh huh, okay. That works for me. I'll see you soon."_ Hitting end, he let out a sigh and slid the phone back into his pocket. It was certainly going to be a long day for him, he just hoped this wouldn't take forever. He wanted to be home at least by dinner time if anything.

About half an hour passed and before he was about to call again, a blue tow truck pulled up in front of him and he shook his head. " _A little late, I was starting to get worried that I would be stranded out here,_ " he told the man sarcastically as he exited the truck.

" _Oh, I apologize darling. I had to make sure everything was alright at the shop. My apprentice is there on their own, so I just wanted to make sure they could handle everything, plus I had to make sure I had all of my tools with me,"_ he returned with a smile as he walked over to Edward's car to assess the damage. " _Oh my, this doesn't look so good. You may need a whole new engine. Let's bring it to my shop and I'll have my lovely apprentice take a look at it."_ Edward only moaned in return. This was worse than he thought it was going to be. It's not like they had engines like his on hand. It would most likely need to be ordered for sure. As for his apprentice, he wasn't sure of what to make this person. They were just beginning, at least that's what he was assuming. This was definitely going to be a nightmare.

After getting the car onto the truck, he signaled for Ed to enter and they drove off back to the shop. Once there, Mr. Garfiel let him get out at the front and brought his car around to the back for his apprentice. In the meantime, he entered the building and sat down in the chair, waiting for someone to come back to tell him the horrible news. It was only about another half hour until the owner came out to the front. " _Oh Edward, I'd like you to meet my lovely apprentice! She will be taking care of your car. This is Miss Winry Rockbell."_ Standing up from his seat, he walked over to the counter to greet the woman. Slowly, he raised his hand to shake her's as she entered the room, but as soon as he actually looked at her, his heart stopped.

He thought the name sounded familiar, but… was it really her? " _It's nice to meet you, Edward,"_ she greeted happily, taking a hold of his hand and shaking it. " _Your car definitely needs some…"_ she suddenly stopped as she opened her eyes and saw the man before her. He appeared shocked, and that's exactly how she felt, as well as lost, curious, and concerned. " _...E-Ed?"_

" _Winry?"_

 _ **(AN: Gosh, it's been years since I've written any fanfics. I used to do this a long time ago back in middle school, and since then, I've been mainly roleplaying, but I wanted to try and start this again since I enjoyed it so much. I figured I would start off small for my beginning chapter to get back into the swing of things, though I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of my Modern AU fic for Fullmetal Alchemist.)**_


	2. Chapter 2

At that moment, he swore his heart stopped beating. It had been years, but there she was in front of him, much older of course, it was still her though. His eyes couldn't leave hers, they were so mesmerizing… and much different from when they were children. It wasn't until he felt her fingers curl slightly against his hand, that he remembered how they hadn't let go from their handshake yet. Gulping, he glanced down, and slowly pulled his hand away. Edward watched as she held her hand there a moment, then his eyes met her own again, and just like that, her pale cheeks became full of color. In an instant, her hand retracted and it was behind her neck. The air around them appeared to be thick, as it was almost hard to breathe for them.

To break the silence, Garfiel only laughed at the awkward situation, admiring the two friends reconnecting. " _Well, I had no idea you two knew each other! What a beautiful sight this is! Two friends, from what it appears to be, reunited at last!"_ He cheered before he started to walk towards the garage, wanting to give the others some space. " _I'll be out back looking at your car if you two need me."_

Edward's face became red as a balloon at his comment, but he shook his head trying to rid his own embarrassment. Once it was just them though, a sigh was let out, and finally, his expression softened. " _I… I had no idea you were his apprentice,"_ he mentioned, feeling a little regret from he had thought previously.

Winry was still in disbelief. Hearing from him was one thing, but actually seeing him… it was a whole other world for her. The hair, his height, even the change of his voice nearly brought her to tears. It was all so much for her to take in, yet it was wonderful to see him after all this time. " _And I had no idea you were the one with the messed up engine,"_ she returned, teasing him a little. With a laugh, her other hand wiped away what tears were beginning to form. She didn't want him to start worrying about her from them suddenly reuniting, besides, he came here to have his car fixed, perhaps she should get back to that. " _Oh, I totally forgot why you were here for a moment. I can give you a rental car for now until I'm able to fix it. Considering the make and the year… it may take a few days for the part to come in, but there's a chance I can save your current engine with some tinkering, and possible experimenting. Either way, I'll have it fixed in no time!"_

It was kind of amazing. He knew she loved this stuff as a child, but to see her now and still be so passionate about it, a smile began to grow from the thought. It even warmed his heart. " _Uh yeah, that's fine. Actually, you can take your time with it. For once, I'm not in a big rush. I have nothing major planned for the next couple of weeks so I'll be around."_

Just for a second, her eyes sparkled at the mention of him being around. 'Maybe we could get together-' she began to think until she heard Garfiel come back into the room, rather quickly. Both of them glanced at him, and immediately her stomach had butterflies in it. He was eavesdropping on them, it was so obvious. " _You'll be around? That's wonderful! You know what, Winry, how about you take off for the rest of the day? I can handle things around here, and I'll even get started on Edward's car for you,"_ he told her, and afterwards raised his hand so he could wiggle his index finger at her so she wouldn't say anything. " _You pretty much live here Winry darling, when was the last time you had a day off? Go, enjoy yourself with your friend and catch up. I'll be fine here."_

It didn't take long for him to grab Winry's keys and practically force her to hold them. When he got like that, she couldn't argue. It would be nice to have a day off at least, so she was happy with the little vacation she was getting today. He was then off to the garage to get started on the work he had to do while she was gone.

" _I guess I have a little time now. Would you like to go out to lunch, and… catch up a little? Unless you had prior plans?"_

Shaking his head, he grinned a little. This day was certainly getting better. " _I was just gonna head to the library, but I don't have to go there today. I'm down for lunch. Where'd you like to go?"_

 **(AN: Apologies for the short chapter, but the next one will be longer I promise. Hope you enjoyed the second chapter, and I'll see you next time!)**


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